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Isaiah 26
Expanded Bible
Isaiah 26
Expanded Bible
A Song of Praise to God
26 ·At that time [L In that day] this song will be sung in Judah:
We have a strong city.
·God protects us with [L His salvation/deliverance is] its strong walls and defenses.
2 Open the gates,
and the ·good people [righteous nation] will enter,
those who ·follow God [remain faithful].
3 You, Lord, ·give [preserve/keep in] ·true peace [complete peace; L peace, peace]
·to those who depend on you [T whose mind is stayed on you; L whose purpose is firm],
because they trust you.
4 So, trust the Lord always,
because ·he [L in Yah, the Lord/Yahweh; C Yah is a shorter version of Yahweh] is our ·Rock forever [eternal rock].
5 He will ·destroy [humble; bring down] ·the people of that proud city [L those who dwell on a high place],
He will bring that ·high [lofty; arrogant] city down to the ground
and throw it down into the dust.
6 ·Then those who were hurt by the city will walk on its ruins [L The foot tramples it down, the feet of the oppressed];
·those who were made poor by the city will trample it under their feet [L the footsteps of the poor (will trample it)].
7 The ·path [way] of life is level for ·those who are right with God [the righteous];
·Lord [or Upright One], you make the way of life ·smooth [straight; level] for those people.
8 But, Lord, we are waiting
·for your [or in the] ·way of justice [or path/way of your judgments].
Our souls ·want to remember [or desire; or wish to see glorified]
·you [your renown; your remembrance] and your name.
9 My soul ·wants to be with [longs/yearns for] you at night,
and my spirit ·wants to be with [seeks; longs for] you ·at the dawn of every day [in the morning].
When your ·way of justice [judgment] comes to the ·land [earth],
·people [the inhabitants] of the world will learn ·the right way of living [righteousness; justice].
10 Evil people will not learn ·to do good [righteousness; justice]
even if you show them ·kindness [mercy; grace].
They will continue ·doing evil [acting unjustly], even if they live in a ·good world [land of uprightness];
they never see the Lord’s ·greatness [majesty].
11 Lord, ·you are ready to punish those people [L your hand is lifted up; C ready to strike],
but they do not see that.
·Show them your strong love for your people [L They will see your zeal for your people; or They will see your zealous judgment against mankind].
·Then those who are evil [L …and they] will be ashamed.
·Burn [Consume] them in the fire
·you have prepared for [L of] your ·enemies [adversaries].
12 Lord, all our ·success is [accomplishments/works are] because of what you have done,
·so give us peace [or and you give us peace/security].
13 Lord, our God, other masters besides you have ruled us,
but we ·honor [praise; remember] only ·you [L your name].
14 ·Those masters are now dead [L They are dead, never to live];
their ·ghosts [spirits] will not rise from death.
You punished and destroyed them
and erased any memory of them.
15 Lord, you ·multiplied the number of your people [enlarged/made great the nation];
you ·multiplied them [enlarged/made great the nation] and brought ·honor [glory] to yourself.
You ·widened [enlarged; extended] the borders of the land.
16 Lord, people ·remember [seek; come to] you when they are in trouble;
they ·say quiet prayers to you [or utter incantations] when you punish them.
17 Lord, ·when we are with you [or because of you],
we are like a woman giving birth to a baby;
she cries and has pain from the birth.
18 ·In the same way [L We were pregnant/conceived], we ·had pain [writhed; strained].
We gave birth, but only to wind.
We ·don’t bring [or can’t bring; haven’t brought] salvation to the ·land [earth]
·or given birth to new people for the world [L nor have the inhabitants of the earth fallen].
19 Your dead will live again;
their bodies will rise from death.
You who ·lie in the ground [L dwell in the dust],
wake up and ·be happy [shout joyfully]!
·The dew covering you [L Your dew] is ·like the dew of a new day [L a dew of lights];
the ·ground [earth] will give birth to the dead.
Judgment: Reward or Punishment
20 My people, go into your ·rooms [chambers; inner rooms]
and shut your doors behind you.
Hide in your rooms for a short time
until God’s anger ·is finished [has passed by].
21 [L For look/T behold] The Lord ·will leave [is coming out of] his place
to punish the ·people [inhabitants] of the world for their sins.
The earth will ·show [reveal; disclose] ·the blood of the people who have been killed [L its blood];
it will not cover ·the dead [its slain] any longer.
Isaiah 26
New International Version
Isaiah 26
New International Version
A Song of Praise
26 In that day(A) this song will be sung(B) in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;(C)
God makes salvation
its walls(D) and ramparts.(E)
2 Open the gates(F)
that the righteous(G) nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3 You will keep in perfect peace(H)
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust(I) in you.
4 Trust(J) in the Lord forever,(K)
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(L) eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(M)
and casts it down to the dust.(N)
6 Feet trample(O) it down—
the feet of the oppressed,(P)
the footsteps of the poor.(Q)
7 The path of the righteous is level;(R)
you, the Upright One,(S) make the way of the righteous smooth.(T)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[a](U)
we wait(V) for you;
your name(W) and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;(X)
in the morning my spirit longs(Y) for you.
When your judgments(Z) come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.(AA)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(AB)
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(AC)
and do not regard(AD) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(AE)
but they do not see(AF) it.
Let them see your zeal(AG) for your people and be put to shame;(AH)
let the fire(AI) reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you establish peace(AJ) for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done(AK) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(AL) besides you have ruled over us,
but your name(AM) alone do we honor.(AN)
14 They are now dead,(AO) they live no more;
their spirits(AP) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(AQ)
you wiped out all memory of them.(AR)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.(AS)
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borders(AT) of the land.
16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(AU)
when you disciplined(AV) them,
they could barely whisper(AW) a prayer.[b]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(AX)
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
but we gave birth(AY) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(AZ) to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.(BA)
19 But your dead(BB) will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(BC)
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(BD) is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.(BE)
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors(BF) behind you;
hide(BG) yourselves for a little while
until his wrath(BH) has passed by.(BI)
21 See, the Lord is coming(BJ) out of his dwelling(BK)
to punish(BL) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(BM) shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
- Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.